The Israeli inquiries have illustrated how little is known about possible ties between Al Qaeda and Palestinian militants.

It is not just the Miller family who denies that the Israeli inquiry was thorough and comprehensive.

The official Israeli inquiry into the shootings is said to be nearly finished.

In interviews today, residents said they had expected little from the Israeli inquiry and were not surprised that it had cleared military officers of responsibility for the killings.

In 1983, an Israeli public inquiry found that Israel's defence minister, Sharon, was indirectly but personally responsible for the massacres.

An Israeli inquiry found he was indirectly responsible for the killings at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.

Turkey also established an inquiry into the events, which found, in contrast to the Israeli inquiry, the blockade and the Israeli raid to have been illegal.

They criticized the findings of the Israeli inquiries.

An Israeli inquiry into the killings is under way, but many Israeli Arabs do not trust the proceedings.

The Israeli inquiry is scheduled to begin interviewing Arab witnesses on Wednesday.